Lost in Little Rock

I know I haven't posted in several day, but I am not going to post just to be posting.  And even now, I don't have a lot to say but something just happened I wanted to share (or brag about).  It always feels good when your kid calls needing your advice, especially if it involves directions... Not directions in life (that's the wife's job)  but directions in driving.  You see, my daughter just called after dropping her sister-in-law off at the airport in Little Rock during rush hour and she was not sure she could find her way back to the base in Jacksonville.  First of all, I had the computer off so this took a few minutes for me to get it fired up and get google maps loaded.  I then asked here what road she was on and she say 440, I ask what exit she is seeing next and she gives me the number.  Unfortunately,  I see she is headed west. I scan ahead and see a place I can turn her around. I have her making a right off the interstate, then another right, and then back onto 440  headed east.  She argues with me that she needs to go left at the second turn when I'm looking right at the map.  It also seem logical that to turn around you need to turn right  (or left) twice but I learned long ago, women (at least the ones in my family) have no sense of direction. Anyways, after getting her headed in the right direction it takes several minutes for her to cross the Arkansas River and then in North Little Rock where she is familiar with the roads.  She says thanks and do I have a few more minutes to talk. She wanted me to catch her up on NASCAR.  She is a big Kasey Kane fan and I had to let her know he won yesterday.  For some reason I thought she knew or I would have already called and told her.  Last time we talked to her she was headed to work and he was running second. I remember because the wife was talking to her and I told the wife to let her know.

puttin out the fire

Small fire I put out on the side of the road

 Today was a lazy day for the most part. Since I went to bed so early last night I was wide awake at 5 AM so got up and put on some coffee.  The wife and I enjoyed a quite morning sipping coffee as we waited for the lady who came to buy our StreetStrider to show up.  She arrived at around 9 AM and we had a nice long visit as we demonstrated it.  After loading it we came in for coffee and to hear her and my wife talk you would think they had known each other for years.  My bent riding friend called and invited me to go riding after lunch  but I have been sore all day I skipped the invitation to go. However, the wife and I did make a quick trip to town, I picked up my bike chain and she bought some shoes.  We ate lunch on the way home at a Mexican restaurant. We got home around  2 PM, and I took a nap.  I got up around 4 PM  and the wife needed me to run to Grant to pick up a few things for supper.  On my way home from the store I saw a small fire just off the road just a little ways up the road from the house. I did not see anyone tending the fire so I  stopped to take a quick look and see if I could put it out.  I decided I better dial 911 just in case.  I happened to see an empty pine bark sack across the road in the ditch and grabbed it as I dialed.

works purdy good for fire swattin!

 I climbed the steep bank just as the dispatcher answered the phone and was already out of breath.  As I was swatting the flames I coughed out that I was at a small brush fire on Randles Rd.  She had no idea where that was (may not have completely understood me) but wanted to know what this was close to.  In my excitement I couldn't think of a nearby landmark but finally remembered Hardees is just a couple of miles away.  By now I had a feeling I was going to be able to put it out myself so I told her to wait a minute before sending out the fire department.  I'm sure she got a kick out of listening to me as I swatted and coughed but I kept the conversation going as I fought the blaze. I was completely out of breath and could hardly talk by the time I got it out but told her it was OK now and thanks for her help.  She did ask if I was OK before I got off the phone, I think she was worried I might have a heart attack.  Anyways,  I told her I was OK but had breathed in a lot of smoke. I drove on home and unloaded the groceries.  The wife met me on the porch wondering why it had taken me so long.  After explaining she said she had smelled smoke shortly after I left but figured it was one of the neighbors burning leaves. Oh, well, all's well that ends well, but I did mess up my favorite hat and now I've got to figure out how to get the soot off of it.

Fergit everthing you learned in gym class

Git ready for the best workout of you life!

 That's right, I have discovered a much better way to workout.  Just to give you an idea of how effective the workout is, I did it for about 5 hours yesterday and was in bed by 7 PM and I usually don't hit the sack before 10 or 11 PM. I woke up sore this morning but I liked the workout so much that I did it for about 4 more hours today.   I'm not quite as tard tonight, but believe me, it was a good workout.  To do this workout correctly you will need a little equipment.  The most expensive item you will need is a Little Giant ladder.  We actually had 2 ladders but my dad was working out too so we needed both.  You could save a little money by using a cheaper ladder (we had one cheap ladder) but the Little Giant is much heavier and that is a plus! The next step is to find a shed that needs a new roof.  You will also need some boards, tin, a hammer, tape measure, speed square,  circular saw (an extra one is nice to cut the tin, just reverse an old blade that does not have carbide tips)) a couple of cordless drills, assorted screws, nails etc.  Now comes the fun part.  I will assume you have measured everything and know what lengths the boards and tin will need to be.  We strapped our boards (lath) to the overhead poles (you most likely will be nailing to rafters) using conduit wall hangers. The poles were just under 2 inches and the straps we used were for 2 inch pipe but we got them to hold by stretching them out just a little.  We then added a row of bracing underneath. The real workout is all the trips up and down the ladder and then a lot of bending and twisting at the top  You climb up, measure something, drop hammer, climb back down, re-climb ladder and hammer or screw whatever it is into place. Repeat this over and over.  We used a combination of shanked nails and wood screws.  By the time you finish putting up the boards you have completed the workout for the day.

Day 2 is a little easier workout but it will still git your attention.  We cut the old tin into the proper lengths and had enough to do one side.  This took us about 2 and a half hours. We then made a trip to Arab and picked up the tin for the other side so we in effect had a pretty long break.  Since the new tin was already cut to length we made much faster progress finishing up the other side. However, my legs are just about wasted. I've ridden my bike 50 mile in a day pulling a trailer loaded with camping gear and not been as tard. I've hiked 20 miles on the AT trail in a day and my legs did not feel as tard.  In  other words, if you judge a workout by how tard you feel afterwards, this one will do the trick! PS I earned bonus points for getting a piece of steel stuck in my finger. It's too small to see to get it out but it is bugging the stew out of me.

John Brown Went to Town

Max about to be John Browned...

This is not really about John Brown going to town but there is a reason I chose it for the title.  You see, Max took his couch sitting game to whole nother level yesterday.  The wife was sitting on the couch with the foot rest extended (like a recliner) when Max decided that looked like a good place to sit.  I saw him pull the one leg up under him like he normally does but then saw he was struggling to get the other one up as well. He looked mighty proud of himself once he got situated but unfortunately, it did not last long.  The wife decided she needed up so, without warning Max, she dropped the foot rest.  He looked really surprised and bewildered but it reminded me of something from my childhood.  My mom and dad would play a little game in which they would sit us (me, my brother and two sisters) up on their  knees and bounce us (individually, not all at once) while singing this little rhyme.

John Brown 
went to town
riddin a goat 
and leadin a hound
hound give a yelp
goat give a jump
left John Brown
sittin on a stump.

But just as they sang the word stump, they would pull their knees apart and let us fall.  Of course they still had aholt of our hands and we were not harmed and pretty much turned out OK......  I did it with our kids too, wonder if they remember?

Forgetful day...literally

Not too bad for an iPhone

Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day but I did get several things accomplished.  The day started with a trip to town to pick up some lumber for my dad,  We also stooped at Wal-Mart and I intended to buy a new bell chain so that all the chain on the Bumble Beast would match.  However, I forgot the chain when we stopped.  That's kinda sad when you consider I told Dad the main reason I needed to stop at wally-world was for the bike chain.  

After we unloaded the groceries and lumber we picked up some tin at the chicken house but it was too windy to try and start putting the roof on his shed. He had bough one of those sheds that is covered by some kind of heavy duty tarp but some strong winds tore the top off about a week ago.

I then ordered a few things from Bacchetta that I needed to repair the Bumble Beast, namely a new derailleur hanger and rear derailleur. I also washed and dried three loads of clothes.  My wife will be glad to hear that it was so windy I dried all three loads (even the towels) in the dryer.  I was rummaging around in the garage and found two chains I had forgotten I had....anyone see a pattern developing here, my mind blocks out anything to do with bicycle chain... Anyways, I must have bought them on clearance a few years ago when ordering something I needed. I  looked online to order a matching chain, then called my LBS to see how much they could get it for.  I prefer to support them but I wont  hesitate to order something if I find a good enough sale online.  Their price was close enough so I will be picking it up the next time I'm in town, probably Friday.

I then went for a walk to the holler.  I really liked the Humvee vest but wore some Wolverine  boots I have been testing for BackpackGearTest instead of the new ones I just got from LAPoliceGear. They fit great and I'll be reporting on them later. By the time I finished my walk it was nearly time for church so I grabbed a quick shower and cooked supper (the wife is sick).  However, the most eventful happening was when Max took his couch sitting game to a whole nother level. But that deserves its own post so I will save it for later.

More Max

My wife says no one cares about my dog sittin on the couch.  I beg to differ...  So this afternoon he decides to sit awhile.  Here are a few of the photos I got.  I have more....

I think he is watchin TV now

musta been boring cause he is asleep now

something under there?

Sittin Purdy!

I'm a little perturbed

That looks a little off kilter to me

Been a cold rainy couple of months.  Today's 10 mile ride on the Dynamik (road like bike) showed me just how much out of shape I have become.  I'm all fired up to get back into riding shape and lose a little weight and it is finally warm enough this afternoon to ride the Bumble Beast without bundling up so much. I head out across the yard.  I hear a popping noise coming from behind me and the bike feel like I just slammed on the brakes.  I stop immediately but apparently not fast enough.  I get off to look for whatever caused the noise and survey the damages. I see that my chain has almost come apart, but instead of separating completely, just one side came loose and it grabbed the whole derailleur.  It's hard to tell how much damaged it did to the derailleur and it also bent the derailleur hanger pretty much beyond repair IMHO.  So, gonna have to order another hanger and hope I can straighten the derailleur enough to get back on the trail.   I'm pretty sure the chain separation is my fault.  I tried to save a little money and only bought 2 chains and then used the old chain form my MTB to make up the needed distance.  Yes, recumbents use about 2 1/3 chains.   Only the new chain was a different type and we (my personal bike mechanic) had a hard time just getting the pins in where the two different type chains connected.

I am frustrated right now but to tell the truth, it's no big thing.  Sure it is gonna cost me some money, perhaps more than I saved by going with mismatched chains. And I will miss a week or more of prim riding opportunities.  However, there are folks with a lot more to worry about than a bent bike. bent bike...git it...  I'm also thankful I was not going downhill on my MTB when this happened.

PS: I had several folks asking me about the mismatched chain so here is a closeup.

forget saving the planet

My wife called needing me to bring her something at work.  She works about 5 miles from the house so instead of jumping in my truck (a 4 cylinder stick shift for the record)  I decided to ride my bike.  It was a chilly (48 F) and windy ride but I managed to work up a decent sweat.  I figure the exercise is good for my health and by riding my bike I'm cutting down on the pollution caused by burning fossil fuel.  Imagine my chagrin when I learned I was in fact doing just the opposite.  You see, I got home and was surfin tha intraweb (BentRiderOnline message boards to be exact) when I ran across a thread about bicyclist polluting the air, or at lest according this republican state representative from Washington St.  Click here to read the article.  Hmmm, funny how that link all of a sudden don't work.  Big Brother?  Try this one before they take it down as well.  A good friend has informed me of slashdotting.  Google it if your not familiar ( I had to, too)

Editing to add, he has since apologized, admitting that his comparison of humans emitting CO2 was way out of line. Read it here.  And while I can not judge whether he is truly sorry or just sorry it caused such a stink (and possibly votes) I can at least let it be known he has apologized. 

Now I myself vote pretty much republican, so when I see things like this it makes me cringe a little.  Sorta like when I hear about another mass shooting. These folks need to wake up and quite rurning..ruining my life. I won't debate the science or politricks because I'm not a scientist or a politician... but the last time I checked, humans and animals put of  CO2 when we breathe, and plants breathe it in and convert it to oxygen, so at least some CO2 is needed.  I think the problem stems more from the industrialization of the human race which has only been around for a few hundred years.  And just to be clear...industrialization (not humans) has only been around a few hundred years.  I'm also not against industrialization.  In fact, I like being able to watch NASCAR, washing my clothes in a machine and taking a hot bath once a week...but I was curious to see exactly who/what contributes the most CO2 but could not find a good graph to illustrate what humans and animals produce.  Is it so low compared to things like transportation, industry etc (all human related of course).  I did find  this one in this article.